Changes should help Pardee adapt

Published: Friday, April 26, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 6:16 p.m.

Henderson County leaders put turf issues aside to help assure the long-term viability of Pardee Hospital when they approved a revised management agreement Wednesday with UNC Health Care System.

The move extends a management agreement Pardee signed with UNC Health in June 2011 from 10 to 15 years. It also gives UNC Health greater control over the hospital while expanding the board that governs Pardee from 11 to 15 voting members.

The change will help buffer the county-owned hospital from what Pardee Hospital President and CEO Jay Kirby called “storms on the horizon.” These include changes coming under the Affordable Care Act, which will increase the number of people covered by health insurance, and the General Assembly’s decision to opt out of expanding Medicaid under the federal health care overhaul. Pardee officials have warned that Raleigh’s move will cost the hospital $54 million over the next decade.

“It’s a tremendous step for the future of Pardee Hospital,” Kirby said of the revised agreement. “There are storms on the horizon. The storms are coming from Washington. They’re coming out of Raleigh. They’re very political in nature.”

In approving the changes, commissioners did something politicians rarely do: they gave up some control in order to help assure a greater good. Until now, the commissioners appointed all 11 members of the hospital board. Under the revised agreement, the board will expand to 15 voting members with three appointed directly by commissioners and three appointed by UNC Health. Five more members will be nominated by the hospital board subject to approval by UNC Health. The remaining four voting members will be Kirby, Pardee Chief of Staff Dr. Ed Lilly, UNC Health Care President and CEO Gary Park, and the commissioners’ appointee, currently Commissioner Mike Edney.

Kirby said the decision helps remove politics from the equation by dividing appointments between commissioners, UNC Health and the hospital’s board and staff. This is a big change from the past in which commissioners have called all the shots for board appointments.

Although it is owned by the county, Pardee does not receive direct county appropriations. In the past, this arrangement has helped fuel conflict between commissioners and the hospital board. It was just a few years ago that some commissioners floated the idea of selling the hospital, prompting protests from hospital staff who said the county should never divest itself of such an important community asset.

The revised agreement assures that Pardee will remain under majority ownership of Henderson County, while giving the hospital access to additional investment from UNC Health, should that become necessary. Any additional investment from UNC Health cannot exceed 49 percent.

Most importantly, the agreement will allow Pardee and UNC Health to focus on the changes coming, says Bill Moyer, a former county commission chairman and chairman of the hospital board. “They can think in a much bigger scope, which is what we have to do,” he said.

That is exactly what Pardee needs during this challenging time of great change for health care.

<p>Henderson County leaders put turf issues aside to help assure the long-term viability of Pardee Hospital when they approved a revised management agreement Wednesday with UNC Health Care System.</p><p>The move extends a management agreement Pardee signed with UNC Health in June 2011 from 10 to 15 years. It also gives UNC Health greater control over the hospital while expanding the board that governs Pardee from 11 to 15 voting members.</p><p>The change will help buffer the county-owned hospital from what Pardee Hospital President and CEO Jay Kirby called storms on the horizon. These include changes coming under the Affordable Care Act, which will increase the number of people covered by health insurance, and the General Assembly’s decision to opt out of expanding Medicaid under the federal health care overhaul. Pardee officials have warned that Raleigh’s move will cost the hospital $54 million over the next decade.</p><p>It’s a tremendous step for the future of Pardee Hospital, Kirby said of the revised agreement. There are storms on the horizon. The storms are coming from Washington. They’re coming out of Raleigh. They’re very political in nature.</p><p>In approving the changes, commissioners did something politicians rarely do: they gave up some control in order to help assure a greater good. Until now, the commissioners appointed all 11 members of the hospital board. Under the revised agreement, the board will expand to 15 voting members with three appointed directly by commissioners and three appointed by UNC Health. Five more members will be nominated by the hospital board subject to approval by UNC Health. The remaining four voting members will be Kirby, Pardee Chief of Staff Dr. Ed Lilly, UNC Health Care President and CEO Gary Park, and the commissioners’ appointee, currently Commissioner Mike Edney.</p><p>Kirby said the decision helps remove politics from the equation by dividing appointments between commissioners, UNC Health and the hospital’s board and staff. This is a big change from the past in which commissioners have called all the shots for board appointments.</p><p>Although it is owned by the county, Pardee does not receive direct county appropriations. In the past, this arrangement has helped fuel conflict between commissioners and the hospital board. It was just a few years ago that some commissioners floated the idea of selling the hospital, prompting protests from hospital staff who said the county should never divest itself of such an important community asset.</p><p>The revised agreement assures that Pardee will remain under majority ownership of Henderson County, while giving the hospital access to additional investment from UNC Health, should that become necessary. Any additional investment from UNC Health cannot exceed 49 percent.</p><p>Most importantly, the agreement will allow Pardee and UNC Health to focus on the changes coming, says Bill Moyer, a former county commission chairman and chairman of the hospital board. They can think in a much bigger scope, which is what we have to do, he said.</p><p>That is exactly what Pardee needs during this challenging time of great change for health care.</p>